Milan Lucic: ‘I’ve never had a problem with my conditioning’

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DJ Bean
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January 7, 2013 @ 3:03 pm
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There were enough questions throughout the NHL[1] lockout, but now that it’s been resolved, puck-heads are asking another: Are these guys in shape?

Players have had the last three months to spend however they wanted. Some played in Europe or the AHL, while many who couldn’t find work elsewhere stayed local. Milan Lucic[2], who got married over the summer, didn’t play anywhere during the lockout but did make appearances at practices organized by teammates, including Monday at Agganis Arena. There have been some murmurs about the power forward’s conditioning during the lockout, and Lucic does appear to have a little more to him these days.

Asked about his “aerobic health,” Lucic said that he won’t know exactly how prepared he is for games until he actually has to play in them. He noted the first day of training camp is always difficult for players, even if they’ve been skating every day.

“We’ll see,” Lucic said. “You’re never really in game shape until you’re playing games. For myself, I try to keep myself in shape, but we still have two weeks here of skating. I’ve never had a problem with my conditioning at any level, so I’ll be ready.”

Lucic said that he has stayed the same weight-wise. He was listed last season as being 228 pounds. With games less than two weeks away, he’s confident that he’ll be ready to go once the puck is dropped for the season.

“That cardio aspect of being in game-shape ‘¦ I think I heard [Steven] Stamkos on TSN yesterday say that you’re never really in game-shape unless you’re playing in games,” Lucic said. “We all feel the same way when it comes to that.”